GATE Success story by AIR -29 Arpan Mangal

ARPAN MANGAL

ADMITTANCE:  IISc 

Trust me, I used to disturb them a lot, even for very small things. But they were always patient to listen carefully and suggested a remedy for it

I remember the day my 10^th class results were announced, CGPA 10/10. I was super excited to go to Kota, Rajasthan to prepare for JEE exam.  All dreams set to become an IITian. My mother came to me and said:

            Mom:  Arpan, We can’t allow you to go to Kota.

            Me:  Surprised!! But Why?. That was the plan since last 2 years.

            Mom:  We found that many students who went to Kota for preparation can’t 

even clear the board exams. So it is better if you stay here and focus on you 12^th class board percentage.

I tried to convince my father, grandfather, grandmother, but all of them were of the opinion that I am not well prepared to live outside alone.  I was depressed; feeling like it is a end of life. Days were passed, school reopened and class XI studies got started. But I lost the passion of study I had. I always used to feel low. Many of my classmates went to Kota. Teachers often used to give their examples in class. There were many like me in class who were feeling that they are missing out something by not going to Kota.

One day, My chemistry teacher tried to motivate us by telling pros and cons of going outside for preparation. She said that there is tremendous pressure on student in Kota. Students are feeling miserable over there and there is no one who can share their pain. She said if you go back to home after working very hard entire day and your Mom says “ Arrey thak gya mera beta, Khana kao aur dudh pee ke so jao, aur sir pe pyaar se haath phira de”, no matters how much tired you are, no matters how bad the things are going on you end, you will be energetic to fight next day.  This motivates me a lot. I stopped thinking about IITs and give my best to prepare for 12^th board exams. 

Class 12^th results came, got 94.4%, but could not clear JEE exam. No worries that I even did not prepare for that.  I took admission in Shiv Nadar University for B.Tech. Everything was going smooth.  Now there is a twist in the story. When my father started to interact with others about career options, he realized he has committed a big mistake by not sending me to prepare for JEE. He realized that lot of opportunity opens up if you do your B.Tech from IITs. She discussed with my sister, she was also in 3^rd year of her B.Tech, is there is anything which can be done now. My sister told my father about GATE examination and said if we do M.Tech also from IITs we will get the same opportunity which B.Tech students have in IITs. But I was not all in mood to go to IIT now. But my father was putting all his efforts. Every day he used to ask me and my sister to find some coaching for GATE preparation. But me and my sister were taking it very lightly.

Now story took a turn. It was 2014 December end, my sister was in final year of B.Tech and I was in my 2^nd year.  My sister found one coaching “Success Gateway Engineers Academy” who was teaching students for free.  Because of influence of her friends my sister joined that.  My sister found that very good. She started putting lot of efforts preparing for GATE 2015 though only some time was left. She was very impressed by teachings of Vinod Sir and Sachin Sir. She was getting conceptual clarity of the subjects. All together she was very happy.  Though she was not able to clear the exam but she was so much satisfied. Concepts which she learnt in these last 1 month, she was not able to learn in entire 4 years of her B.Tech. And this was the case with her friends as well. When she discussed these experiences with my father and me, we were very impressed. We ourselves seen how much efforts she put in these last 1 month compared to 4 years, and that could only happen once you develop interest in what you are learning.

Once again I started to dream for IITs. In April 2015, I gave my last exam of 2^nd year B.Tech and came home. Before even taking the meal, I called Sachin Sir and said, Sir I am free now, please tell how can I start preparation. He laughed at me.  He asked me to relax and said coaching will start in mid-June.  But as I was pressing him hard, he asked me to read one book.

I joined coaching in June 2015. Vinod Sir was teaching “Algorithms” and Sachin Sir was teaching “Operating System”.  Ahh! What a teacher, Amazing!.  I could not even imagine that these subjects can be taught in such a way. Everything was crystal clear. I got so much interested in these subjects. I used to revise notes, read standard textbook and solve questions.  They used to take real life examples, lot of discussion in the class. Lot of fun and party as well. I was enjoying a lot. They used to give attention to each and every student. We could call them anytime for anything.  I develop faith in them and started following their instructions seriously. And If I find some instruction not working for me, instead of not following it, I used to discuss with them so that they can make me understand why they are asking me to do that.

One of the best things of this coaching was environment. Everyone was accessible.  There was drop-out batch who was preparing again. We used to study with them as well. Their failures taught as many things. Overall there was very friendly environment. We were not competing with each other. Everyone was helping each other to the extent he can. 

After those 2 months of prep and completing 3 subjects, I was back to my college life. Since I can only give exam in 2017, it was planned that I will go to coaching only in summer and winter vacation. They have planned separately for me. But now my way of looking at things was completely changed.  There was some kind of curiosity and patience developed in me.  Many times I used to read standard textbooks and surf the internet even if that is not the part of my syllabus.

Though physically I was not going to coaching classes, coaching was still on.  Every 2-3 days I used to update them about my status. They were guiding me in each and every thing like in selecting the courses, focus on placements and etc.  I was so much passionate about GATE now, that everyone in the hostel can feel so.  In my discussions on the dinner table, the way I used to participate in the classes, the way I discuss the concepts with my friend. Even some faculties in my college were influenced.  One faculty from maths department formed the group and started taking some maths concepts of GATE syllabus.

Yaa, There were times that I feel I am loosing the track and things are not going smoothly. But all I had to do is, just call Sachin sir and Vinod Sir and everything will be on track from the very next day. Trust me, I used to disturb them a lot, even for very small things. But they were always patient to listen carefully and suggested a remedy for it. All I need to do is to follow that, but not blindly, I used to discuss proper pros and cons of each thing.

 I went to coaching in December, then in June-July 2016. By this time, I was done with my syllabus. Everything was very much planned.  They have given lot of practice booklets, lots of tests both subject wise and full length. They even taught “Aptitude”.  And after that I understood it was very important, we started solving aptitude questions in 1/4^th of the time. 

Again, One more twist in the story. GATE 2017 was scheduled on 11^th feb.  My father fixed my sister’s wedding on 29^th Jan.  And we all know how Indian weddings are, they started a month ago from marriage date and goes on even after a week of marriage. The groom side even asked my father to postpone the date for marriage because of my exam. But my father was so confident about my preparation that he didn’t.  To add difficulty you must remember Demonetization in Nov-2016 and I had my sister marriage in Jan. Whole November and December, I revised my coaching notes in the banks queue for exchange of notes. There was a marriage environment in my family from December till my exam date. But when I used to discuss these things with Sachin Sir and Vinod Sir, they used to say that don’t worry, we have prepared you, we are confident in you and even if you don’t prepare for even 2 months you are going to crack this examination.  It was not my hard work alone, it was also the confidence they have in their teaching. They were confident that our concepts are so clear that even if we forget any formula in exam hall, we can derive it then and there.

I cleared GATE-2017 with AIR 29 and joined IISc. The story goes on even here. First exam of IISc was of Algorithms. It was 20 marks test. I scored 20/20 in this test.  I was alone to score this. It was all because of Vinod Sir who gave 2 months to teach Algorithms alone while GATE prep.  Such things were repeated in all the subjects. I scored 9.4/10 CGPA in IISc.  I got selected in Samsung R & D with package of 25lpa.

I can’t express my gratitude towards these two legends in words. Their teachings were not limited to GATE prep only, they are helping me now as well.  I pray to God to bless with such a “Guru” to each one of us.

GATE Success story - A journey from ABES-EC to Goldman Sachs(CTC-33.0 LPA)

MANISH PANWAR
ADMITTANCE:  IIT Kanpur
A journey from tier-3 college to Goldman Sachs, Success GATEway is one of the best things that happened to me

I heard about Success GATEway from a friend when I was in the final year of my B.Tech (CSE). They were providing a free crash course for GATE. Since it was free, I also joined that with my friends (like they say "Gyan bat Raha h Bator lo”). But in that 1 month, I experienced the best teaching of my life, in fact, I didn't know studying could be that interesting. With whatever knowledge I gained in that month, I gave GATE, though I got well above qualifying marks but wasn't able to get a decent rank to get into a good college. Still, that knowledge helped me crack many interviews with ease.

After graduation I was confused about whether to take a drop or not, I talked to my family, both Sachin and Vinod Sir and decided to prepare till I get joining (since it was TCS and generally their joining is late if you don't do some ILP courses). And then my preparation started, I learned a lot in that time. Both the Sir's are amazing, they not only teach you but also motivates you throughout. I could clearly see the level of preparation they wanted us to do and I could feel the transformation in me. The way I used to tackle any problem changed or I should say improved a lot. Plus both the Sir's were always available to help us out, even at midnight, they are just a call away. One of the best thing about both of them is that they not only taught problem-solving but also gives the intuition about the problem (and I think this is very important in any exam especially like GATE) so that you can solve problems by yourself and learn on your own.

Everything was going fine until I receive my joining letter, joining date was Jan 18, 2016, and my GATE exam was on Feb 6, 2016. I was a little confused but was confident about my preparation and I mailed them that I'll not be joining as I want to go for further studies. That really was a bold decision, but when your family supports you, its easy to take them.

Long story short, I got admission in IIT Kanpur, even there wherever I face problem both the Sir was always there to help. They still are guiding me, even in the placements @IITK they were very helpful and were continuously mentoring me.

I am currently working in Goldman Sachs, Success GATEway is one of the best things that happened to me; it helped me reach where I'm today. It was a great journey that helped me learn and grow.

GATE Success story - Ajay Singh: Success GATEway

AJAY SINGH

ADMITTANCE:  IIT KANPUR
        During the preparation and course I always found them standing right next to me and encouraging me to challenge my own limits

Let me walk you through my journey to IIT Kanpur. “It all started with a dream - The TCS”. It's the very beginning of my BTECH final year when everyone started preparing for placements. Just a few days before the TCS drive I received a mail from placement cell “A course from IIT folks on placement preparation” on very nominal price. Though fate was lenient to me but my "confidence" directed my course towards bumps. The mail caught all of my attention with the tag "IIT". Being aware of my own flaws I opted for the course to seek ways of exonerating myself. Talking of the time we were highly motivated to “3.2 lpa” or you can say bound to this. I got rejected in the very first round of TCS and followed by many more. Finally I got placed at InfoEdge. 

These “IIT folks” are from “Success Gateway”, filled with agog and confidence that I have merely seen. Their presence in my life was not just to offer the crash course on “GATE-CSE” but also to steer my personality on a decent path. I was impressed by the way they explain things and clear doubts in person. I decided to join the crash course with the aim that even if I won’t get a selection I will have good knowledge of my core subjects. It was beneficial as I wanted to clear my stains that were present since the initial days at ABES. 

   

 I personally feel that we do not explore the opportunities in front of us. It has always been the case that aspiring students are satisfied with the placements. My suggestion would be that “always look for the opportunities, as there are many roads that will coincide with yours” This optimistic philosophy had been much solace to me in my journey. 

Time flew and the crash course went well, we covered almost all the topics in class. As I don’t have much time to practice problems I just followed the notes for the exam. I usually follow a different strategy for attempting the paper but that day I was at war with myself in choosing the one out of two strategies and ended up with the one which I never used. This went totally against me. My suggestion to you guy's - “never change your plans based on the last minute fluctuations in thinking for the exam”.

After that I decided to give one more attempt for the GATE Exam. I just followed Sachin Sir and Vinod Sir in every aspect during the preparation. They are well disposed and always on their toes for their student. During the preparation and course I always found them standing right next to me and encouraging me to challenge my own limits. 

Preparation Strategy: I used to discuss this with almost all the folks whomsoever I found relatable. I used to pick the ones which are going to help me better. So my suggestion is, not to follow someone else's strategy blindly. Discuss with your peers and design one for yourself. Still some basics points I used to focus on that I don’t leave any subject for too long else lots of rework is required. If you don’t have enough time for solving problems at least revise the notes. If you lack here selection chances are pretty slim.

There were times when I found myself drowning, but I always used to go with the flow. I needed lot of support in this situation, which Sachin Sir and Vinod Sir always provided me. Vinod Sir says “Paper k liye confidence aisa hona chahiye ki Agar tumahara selection nii hoga to kisika ni hoga”. These motivated words are still engraved in my mind. Just work hard for the attainment of such confidence and you will see eventually everything falling in place. During this course of time I had lots of experiences and fun, followed by much more at IIT’s with continuous sleepless nights.

I got AIR 652 in GATE-17 and after which I received a call from IITK for a written test. That test went just like Vinod sir said and this changed my life completely. On 1 Dec’18 I was giving an interview for base packages of 16-25 LPA. Comparing the one which I applied in my final year of CTC 1.8 LPA and got rejected. Things will change, you have to be patient and work hard. Previously I retained the impression that I was somehow less than other aspirants but my days with "Success Gateway" assisted me to change it completely. 

I was placed in Myntra Design as Software Developer with CTC - 27.0 LPA. I have completed my master’s from IIT Kanpur in Computer Science and bachelor’s from ABES Engineering College. 

Many a times I had fallen into the seemingly abyss of despair but I am thankful to both my mentors for helping me fight against my mirror. The journey to success was not easy but the experience and learning in Success Gateway is prized. I can never thank you enough for making my life and career worthwhile.

GATE Success story - Shriyansh Raj Mishra: Success GATEway

SHRIYANSH RAJ MISHRA
ADMITTANCE:  IIT KANPUR
They have been a constant source of motivation. This whole journey from placement preparation to IIT Kanpur

Thankyou sir, aap log na hote to is ID (srajm@iitk.ac.in) se mail na bhej paata.

As every other student in a private engineering college with the beginning of final year, came the daunting task of placement preparation. I was as clueless as one can be about what and how to prepare for a technical interview. Desperate as I was for a solution, I came to know about placement preparation classes by Success Gateway from my batch mates and thought to give it a try. So I went for a trial class, and the first class was for C language taken by Sachin sir and that blew me away. Never in my 3 years of B.Tech I had that clarity about C and its concepts. Even the frightening topics like pointers seemed to be easy and straightforward. And I decided I will join the placement preparation batch.

It was at Success Gateway that I came to know about GATE exam, what it is and what new opportunities it can open for me. I was halfway through my placement preparation classes and decided to give it a try. In my first attempt in B.Tech final year I secured AIR 1231. I wasn't disappointed as I started my preparation late and couldn't cover subjects like Computer Network, Computer Organization and Compiler. I decided to give another try, so I took a drop and prepared full time and ended up securing AIR 190, GATE 2018.

As per my experience at Success Gateway, the perks were small batch size, thorough topic discussion and problem solving sessions and one-to-one doubt clearing with the teachers. The teachers actually cared about clearing students' doubt. Smaller batches meant more interactive classes and opportunity to clear any doubt during the class and not piling it up for future, which isn't possible in a class of hundreds. Thorough discussions of topics and previous-year questions not only helped in better understanding of the concept, they also came helpful in later stages like interviews and written tests conducted by IITs after GATE exam. The content taught was of top-notch quality. It was concise without missing anything crucial to the exam. Workbooks and regular tests ensured that we cover previous year questions as well as conceptually challenging questions. Other benefits were monetary, the reasonable fees and close proximity to my hostel (it saved both time and money).

Apart from the theoretical knowledge, I would thank both Vinod Sir and Sachin Sir for their guidance. And I believe every student would agree to the same. From preparation to actual day of the exam, they support the students on every step. They analyze the performance of every individual and coach him/her accordingly. How to prepare, how to perform in tests, how to revise, how to tackle the exam, any issue one might have as a student, they are ready to help. For me, throughout my preparation they have been a constant source of motivation. This whole journey from placement preparation to IIT Kanpur wouldn't have been possible without Success Gateway. I believe joining Success Gateway was the best decision I made.

My preparation strategy, as suggested by teachers, was to keep revising notes, solving previous year GATE questions thoroughly, taking regular mock tests and understanding key points on which questions were made. Regular tests conducted at Success Gateway helped me evaluate my preparation, identify my weak and strong areas and prepared me for actual exam day.

My advice for future aspirants would be to go for quality rather than quantity. There's no point in solving all the questions ever asked in the exam or covering every topic ever asked without understanding the concept behind them. Work on fundamental concepts, solve a lot of questions, try mapping new questions to one you've already solved, challenge your concepts by asking questions and most important: clear your doubts. Give lots of mock tests, as they give you the real feel of performing with the clock ticking. I wish all the future GATE Aspirants good luck for their preparation.

GATE Success story - Naveen Gupta: Success GATEway

NAVEEN GUPTA

ADMITTANCE:  IIT ROORKEE

I remember how Sachin/Vinod sir called us in the evening and motivated us by giving the dozes which really helped. On the day of the exam, they even came to our exam center to wish us and give the final doze.

Talking about my GATE journey, initially when I started my undergrad, I didn't have any such plan for GATE. Till the fifth semester, I enjoyed full college life, fun with friends, assignments, so many lectures, lectures bunk, learning from seniors, taking part in events, organizing events, everything which we all do in engineering.

Being a part of the technical club of CSE Department, I have been in touch with many seniors who have good expertise in various fields. So after the fifth semester exams got over, I had interacted with seniors who are already preparing for GATE and placements. From one of the seniors, I got to know about Success GATEway classes to prepare for GATE. Then I made up my mind and went there for the demo classes. After talking with faculties Sachin and Vinod sir, I just finalized to start the GATE preparation. In the sixth-semester starting, I joined the classes which only ran on weekends at that time, as college was open. We covered 3-4 subjects of GATE, these subjects include networks, compiler design, C programming, etc till the end of the sixth semester, which also helped me in my university exams. In the vacation time, we started our placement preparation in the coaching as they cover the same subjects during that time. During the college placements, I got selected for a full-time offer in MNC, so that was a happy moment as it was the first placement offer that I had received. After some days of break, we continued the coaching classes and covered the remaining subjects and started giving test series.

A great thing about faculties over there is that they always motivate students to keep going and work hard. These classes helped me understand the concepts clearly and in an easy way as they relate the concepts with the real scenario. In the last 2-3 months, we have done revision, discussion and taken online/offline tests. We were advised not to give any test 10 days before the exam, just do the summary revision. Those days I remember how Sachin/Vinod sir called us in the evening and motivated us by giving the dozes which really helped. On the day of the exam, they even came to our exam center to wish us and give the final doze. When results were declared and after a long counselling process, finally I got admission in IIT Roorkee, that’s really a great moment for me. 

IIT life: Those were the most precious two years of my life as it was full of opportunities and learning. I have availed most of the facilities provided by the institute sports indoor/outdoor, swimming, etc. One thing about IIT is that we need to really put our best efforts to grab the good CGPA, so it was a little bit challenging also. We were given the good quality projects to complete within the deadline and that keeps pushing us to spend more time. Then comes the placement season in IIT which was very much different from what I had seen in my undergrad. All final year students put their best efforts to grab the good placement offer, we had spent many hours including nights also for the preparation. During the placement season in IIT, I grabbed the offer in a good company as a Software Engineer. 

There were many ups and downs in this journey, putting continuous efforts and believing in me was the final key.

GATE Success story - Anuj Jain: Success GATEway

ANUJ JAIN

ADMITTANCE: IIT MADRAS

The strongest factor for success is self-esteem: Believing you can do it, believing you deserve it and believing you'll get it

Let me give you a little insight about my upbringing. I grew up in a family where my parents are very well qualified; my younger brother is extraordinary when it comes to studies. Conversely I was very bad at studies since my school days, infact I badly failed in my 11th standard, Mercy of my school teachers I was promoted to 12th standard, Even in my 12th standard i barely passed.

I did not have any goals about my career and as most of the Indian students not sure about their career; I decided to pursue "ENGINEERING". As I did not score even average grades in my high school I never considered myself capable enough to land in a good college therefore I joined an engineering college nearby my home which was easy to get into. I had little understanding of what field to pursue engineering in, therefore following the mob mentality I opted for the computer science branch. Now the only objective of mine remained to get a mediocre job on completion of my engineering.

Well, everyone thinks if you have a B.Tech degree in computer science then getting a job is easy but believes me it is not that easy, one needs to work hard to earn even a mediocre job. In 4th year of my college I joined placement preparation classes at Success GATEway; irony is that these classes were meant to make us understand what all we have studied in our B.Tech.

How I joined the GATE preparation batch is a story in itself, I attended a few placement preparation classes but I found it hard to concentrate and pass time in such long classes therefore just for the sake of good company I upgraded my batch to GATE preparation batch as some of my friends were already attending this batch. As this batch covered everything that was covered in placement preparation batch but in more detail therefore I thought it could never harm to attend these classes.

Now when I look back, it seems wonderful how things plan out and I find myself in a place where I never planned to be, how I end up attending classes for preparation of an exam which I never even thought of appearing for, but one cannot achieve a goal until and unless self-motivation towards achieving that goal is developed. It's strange how little things in your life can change your thinking. Till this point in time I lacked that motivation, I had joined the GATE preparation batch but my objective still remained getting a mediocre job from college placements, I never took GATE seriously.

Vinod sir and Sachin sir who teaches at Success GATEway are two most influential people in my life, everything i have achieved and will achieve in my future, a big credit goes to them. The kind of motivational talks they would give time to time helped to always set our aims higher.

Two incidents that happened around this time provided me the motivation I was lacking towards GATE:One, I got to meet Manish Panwar who happens to be the first IITian from Success GATEway. Listening to the stories he had about IIT Kanpur, about the kind of practical knowledge you get there, research opportunities there, new ideas that develop when you are surrounded by such bright minds, lit a spark in me about getting to an IIT and of course then there is the kind of job and money one gets after passing out from an IIT is not a secret.

Second, even after working hard and preparing well for the placements I did not get placed, that was the lowest phase of my life till date because I did not know what else to do, it was already December, I had not prepared for GATE at all and the exam was in February.

I appeared for the exam with no preparation and as expected my score was no way near to what is required to get into an IIT. This was the time when I had to make a choice, whether to look for a job or to take a drop and prepare for GATE. This is the tricky part as my father had good links and it would have been easy for him to get me a job and considering my below average performance in studies it would be difficult to convince my family for a drop. But somewhere deep inside I had a belief and was motivated that I could crack the GATE exam and get into an IIT, therefore I wanted to give my best shot at GATE at least once.

After some resistance I managed to convince my family, I rejoined the same coaching, no one I guess would have believed in me to reach an IIT at that time but the only one whose belief counts is you yourself. Believing in myself I started preparing for it with my fullest of the potential, I did everything as asked by the teachers, worked as hard as I could but one can only work towards achieving a goal but whether a goal will be achieved is in the hands of destiny.

Even after working hard I was not scoring well in the regular tests conducted in the coaching, I was feeling the pressure of drop and was starting to doubt myself. But the key here is never to lose faith in you, keep working hard and the things will eventually fall in place.

This is exactly what happened, eventually I started to score well in tests and later in mock tests my scores were really good, that's when I got my confidence back, even the so called best eligible candidates of class started to discuss doubts with me, this is when I felt certain to possess the potential to crack this exam.

Now comes the exam day, everyone was nervous, I had butterflies in my stomach but strangely I did not feel nervous, in fact I was pretty confident about doing well in the exam. My exam went excellent, I was 99% sure after the exam that I was going to one or the other IIT. Results came out, and I scored AIR 275. It is almost sure for one to get into one of the top 7 IITs with this rank. I guess I was a bit lucky to get into IIT Madras with this rank, thanks to the COAP system, as I should have got IIT Guwahati with my rank but got Madras in the spot round.

Well once you get into an IIT things change, people and relatives start giving you respect, suddenly you become a topic of discussion, but on top of everything I cannot forget how proud my parents were, how happy they were to inform everyone. I don't think it's possible to buy feelings like that; one has got to earn those.

Spending 2 years in IIT Madras was like a dream, I will remember every second I spent there throughout my life. It is the environment of these big institutions that makes you push your limits and makes one discover the best version of yourself.

Second time in my life when I made my parents proud was when I got placed in Samsung R&D India with a good package, a kind of job I could not even think of passing out of my B.Tech college. I will now be starting a new phase of my life, entering corporate life, hoping this journey will also be as happening as my previous journeys.

If I can cover distance from being a failure in my school days to getting into an IIT, completing a master degree and getting a research job, I believe anyone who has the willpower and works hard can achieve anything that he/she fancy. I would like to end with the quote "The strongest factor for success is self-esteem: Believing you can do it, believing you deserve it and believing you'll get it".

GATE Success story - Upasana Singh: Success GATEway

UPASANA SINGH

ADMITTANCE:  IIT KANPUR

I was taking online lectures for GATE. But with time, I realized that in-person coaching or guidance will be more helpful

I did my B.Tech from ABES-EC, Ghaziabad. I started my GATE preparation in summer break after my pre-final year in B.Tech. Initially, I was taking online lectures for GATE. But with time, I realized that in-person coaching or guidance will be more helpful. Because in coaching centers, it is more convenient to ask questions. When I discussed it with some of my friends, I came to know about Success GATEway coaching classes. Many of my batch mates were enrolled in their placement course and many others from my college were enrolled in the GATE preparation course. Sachin Sir at Success GATEway used to teach C programming language for both the courses. He was famous for his way of teaching C programming. I joined Success GATEway in August 2016. By the time I joined, a few of the subjects had already been covered. Few other students joined late around the same time. So, we went to the instructors to discuss this, and they willingly agreed to teach us those subjects on the holidays and off-days even without us asking. We were provided with the exercise booklets for each subject, having sufficient practice questions. We used to give tests on weekends. 

As this was my final year, I had to appear for the placement drives as well. At that time, I wanted to keep a backup option in case things don’t go well as planned. I didn’t prepare anything specifically for placements apart from some behavioral questions, of course. I always knew that whatever I was preparing for GATE would help me in my college placements as well, and it did. I got placed on the first day itself. From the day I got placed, I resumed my GATE coaching classes with full energy and concentration. It was the month of November, and most of our subjects were covered by that time. We were supposed to practice more and more by giving online and offline tests. But, I was not very serious with the online practice tests at that time. Either I always used to end the tests in the middle or did not take them seriously as in a real exam. I would suggest everyone to never do this. Later, I realized this was the biggest mistake I made during my preparation for GATE 2017. 

I got AIR 1350 in GATE 2017. I was not happy with the rank because I knew it wasn’t enough to get into any prestigious IIT. On the day results came, I got a call from one of my instructors asking about the results. My instructors called almost everybody from our GATE batch that day. They congratulated us and motivated us to do better. They often used to tell us things that motivated us during coaching as well. These things proved to be very important for all of us. Motivation drives you to keep going and always do better whenever you are preparing for a competitive exam, whether it is GATE or something else. Both of our instructors have always been very friendly and helpful. We could always rely on them for any kind of queries. 

After GATE 2017 results, I had a choice to make to appear for GATE again or not. This was easier for me to decide because I wanted something great for myself. I didn’t want to settle for what I already had. So, I decided to prepare again for GATE 2018. When I was about to graduate in 2017, I had the option of doing GATE preparation along with a job or just prepare full-time for GATE. Since I wanted to give my 100% this time, I chose to prepare full-time for GATE 2018 and rejected my job offer. My parents were always very supportive during all this time. 

I joined the GATE preparation batch of Success GATEway again. Although I had all the notes and other resources from my GATE 2017 preparation, I still joined the coaching because I didn’t want to miss anything this time. I knew that regularly going to coaching classes will maintain discipline and consistency during my preparation. And, all the things that I missed earlier or didn’t do the right way, I would have a chance to make them right. During GATE 2017 preparation, I didn’t spend much time on regularly revising the concepts. Revision is very important. It can make significant impacts on your preparation. If we don’t revise whatever we learn, we often tend to forget it and then end up spending double time on learning the same things again. It wastes more time. Also, revision helps you to know more about your strengths and weaknesses in each subject. This enables you to make informed decisions about which questions should be attempted or skipped during the exam. During GATE 2017, I didn’t decide upon any pattern beforehand on how I would be attempting the questions. This was another blunder made by me. An aspirant should always know beforehand which pattern is suitable for him/her for writing the exam. One should practice sufficient full syllabus tests to figure out which question pattern works for him/her. And afterward, the aspirant should stick to that attempt pattern only while writing any practice test. This prepares your mind in some way and avoids any ambiguities during exam time.

In GATE 2018, I followed an attempt pattern and practiced the same in all my practice tests in coaching. In the first go of the question paper, I attempted 2 marks questions first, then 1 mark questions and at last, the aptitude questions. In the second go, I tried to solve the questions that I could not answer in the first go. I decided to attempt 2 marks questions first because they need more of your time and brain. And usually, we are very calm at the start of an exam. Attempting 2 marks question at the start has its own side effects, but you need to be mentally prepared for that. You should learn to skip questions when needed. And this habit will only develop once you give enough practice tests. 

I secured AIR 166 in GATE 2018 and took admission in IIT Kanpur. I never focused on the number of hours that I put in for preparation. But I always maintained the consistency to follow all these things diligently. At all times, I was focused on maintaining the accuracy of my answers rather than increasing the number of questions I attempt. It helped me in my final GATE exam as well. I only got negatives for 3 questions. Being said that, I still believe that different strategies work for different aspirants, and you should figure out your own strategy by practicing more and more tests. Our instructors at Success GATEway always insisted on that. Success GATEway used to be open on even holidays. There were times when only the students used to go to coaching, to have discussions and doubt solving sessions. I used to spend most of my time there in December and January. My friends and I used to discuss and solve problems together. A student should always be engaged in some doubt sessions or discussions. It helps to make the concepts more clear.

Our instructors provided us with all the resources that they could. They used to be always available to clear your doubts. We were even allowed to call them to clear our doubts. I always think I could have done even better than this. There is always a scope for improvement. Practice more and more to become better. It will boost your confidence for the final GATE exam. Now, I am part of a prestigious institute, and I am very thankful to all those who have been a part of this journey. I have learned many things from my instructors, my friends in coaching, and I will always be grateful to them.

Some pointers based on my little experience:

1. Take every practice test seriously. Write the tests as you would in the GATE exam. 

2. Clear your basics. So that even when a new type of question comes, you will be able to tackle it. Don’t rely only on the type of questions already seen in previous years. 

3. Consistency. Hard work is the key to your success only if you do it consistently. Do revise your notes regularly. Don’t run away from subjects like Computer Organization. Instead, give them more time and try to understand the basics. Once you understand the basics, you would love to learn more. Refer to standard books when needed. 

4. Time. Plan and divide your time accordingly for each subject. Learning new concepts and revising old ones should go hand in hand. Also, plan how you would write your final GATE exam.